2019 YAMAHA YZF-R3
FIRST IMPRESSION
P78
Cold and wet
conditions gave the
Dunlop tires a good
chance to shine.
and the top fairing cowl is now a
more traditional design with the
mirror placement and screen
looking much more like the R6's.
Yamaha's decision to change
the styling is more than just a
mechanical exercise: they are
hoping to get the R3 rider early,
get them pumped about riding
a Yamaha sport bike and keep
them in the family with their next
bike being an R6 or R1. Brand
loyalty is hard to come by in
the sport-bike game—riders are
always looking for the next fastest
thing so any way Yamaha can
keep them in the family, they're
going to exercise it.
Compared to the 2018 edition,
this R3 feels much more track
focused before you even turn the
key. The revised riding position
and the new clip-on bars angle the
rider more towards the front wheel,
which has the added effect of
loading up the new Dunlop Sport-
max GPR-300 tire to increase your
turn speed.
This is aided by the fact that
the front end's now inverted fork
has a 20 percent heavier spring
rate compared to the 2018 model.
The fork is still non-adjustable,
but braking balance is greatly
improved with the compression
and rebound damping figures both
increased over the old machine.
Yamaha has designed the spring
rates to suit a wide variety of rider
weights, so those looking for even
more performance will need to
